Campfire Cooking

Last weekend we went on a family camping trip with some friends. It was a beautiful weekend to spend outdoors. We hiked in the afternoon and taught the kids what stones skipped the best across a creek. The kids had a great time imagining themselves as explorers. Part of the adventure was cooking over hot coals. Our friend, Trey, is an avid camper and had just purchased a Dutch oven that he brought along to try out. When you cook with a Dutch oven, you place it on hot embers and also cover the top with more embers.

On Saturday night, Trey and his wife, Kristi made a really yummy stew and then another hearty dish for breakfast the next morning. The recipes are both from dutchovendude.com.

Cowboy Stew:

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion
3 potatoes
(all cans are about 15 oz.)
1 can green beans
1 can baked beans
1 can black beans
1 can tomato soup
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper

Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Dice onion.
Preheat dutch oven to 350 degrees with all coals underneath.
Brown ground beef and onion. Add potatoes and all cans, undrained.
Add spices (more or less if you like bland or spicy). Cover with lid. Cook until potatoes are soft (about 45 minutes). Stir every 5 minutes while the stew is cooking

Sausage and Egg Casserole:

1 lb. pork sausage links or patties
1 box frozen hash browns
12 eggs
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese
salt and pepper


Grate cheese. Preheat dutch oven to 325 degrees. Cut or tear the sausage into little pieces and dump into The dutch oven. Stir until sausage is cooked. (or heated if using precooked sausage)
Add hash browns. Stir and fry until hash browns are browned.
Remove from coals. Mix eggs and pour over top of potato/sausage base. Season with salt and pepper. Cover Dutch oven and add coals to the lid to cook the eggs from above. When eggs are cooked, sprinkle cheese, cover and cook for 5 minutes to melt cheese.